Sunday, September 29, 2013

Lydia, A Seller of Purple

Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. John 19:5

I once worked in a chemical company. They specialized in dyes. A tiny vial of some of them would be worth thousands of dollars.

My uncle was one of the world's greatest experts on dyes. He wrote a text on them which is still in print. He taught himself German so he could read texts in that language. He rediscovered how to make Phonecian purple from seaweed. Though it was likely the color of the robe placed on Jesus, the secret was locked away for many years until my uncle, Floyd Green, rediscovered it.

The company I worked for bought a bundle of seaweed from Madagascar in order to make a trial batch in a big steam-heated kettle. It worked. I took the woven wrapping of the seaweed home and used it for a floor mat in my bedroom. It seemed so exotic.

It was an awful job. We used to urinate the colors. We even got dyes in our eyes. I quit and took a motorcycle trip to New Mexico.

This is awfully tenuous, but I feel a link to Lydia, the seller of purple in Acts 16:14. Is it not wonderful that God has recorded her name for us? Such an elegant name. And because purple was only worn by royalty, she was no doubt a patrician lady.

She responded to the preaching of Paul. She and her household were baptized as believers. Luke tells us she invited them to stay at her house. She will receive her reward for this.

Dedication

About

Welcome. My name is Kymber and I have had the incredible good fortune to meet a new friend, The Last Robin.
We met through some funny circumstances over email and instantly became friends. We shared a bit about ourselves with each other and he also shared many of his stories. I was profoundly touched by his clear and elegant writing style, and also by the way he expressed complex ideas in such a simple manner. I knew that these stories needed to be shared with others!
I encouraged him to start a blog. He needed a bit of a push and a little more encouragement before finally agreeing to post all of his beautiful stories, his thoughts, ideas and musings. Trust me - he is a prolific writer AND has many, many ideas.
I hope that all of you who stop here will:
- appreciate the amount of time that The Last Robin has spent over the years writing his stories.
- come away after reading his stories and musings with a question or two in your hearts and minds with a different perspective.
- be as touched by his stories as I was after I first read some of them.
It gives me great honour and pleasure to introduce my friend, my Dear Uncle, The Last Robin.
Thank you to all who stop by!